400 Mile Mower Journey

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400 Mile Mower Journey: Five former students who drove a Ransomes Matador mower non-stop from Edinburgh to London’s Hyde Park back in 1959, were reunited recently to commemorate their epic journey. The University of Hertfordshire in Hatfield hosted a celebratory lunch and tour of the current Engineering faculty to celebrate their remarkable achievement.

Back in 1959, Tom Hudson, Mike Smith, Mike Savage, Hugh Tansley and John Wilson, who were all apprentices at the De Havilland Aircraft Company and day-release students at Hatfield Technical College, decided they wanted to test the reliability of small petrol engines, so they hatched a plot which became known as Operation Matador, to see if they could drive a mower from Edinburgh to London.

400 Mile Mower Journey

They contacted the management at Ransomes, Sims and Jeffries, the forerunner of today’s Ransomes Jacobsen company, who quickly agreed to help them out. Ransomes provided a standard Matador walk-behind mower, slightly modified with a larger sump added to the 288cc Villiers engine to provide enough lubrication for the non-stop 400-mile trip. A team of four apprentices tested a couple of prototypes, running them around Ipswich for 90 hours, which was the estimated time it would take to travel at 3 mph down the A68 and A1.

With the trials successfully completed, the date for Operation Matador was set for Easter 1959. The five students left Edinburgh Castle with Tom Hudson driving the first leg and the others crammed into a Bedford Dormobile, which was to be their mobile home for the next four days. A gift of a haggis was placed in the grass box of the mower to be presented to the Keeper of the Royal Parks in London – a Scotsman – at the end of the journey.

Four days and three nights after leaving the appropriately named Lawnmarket in Edinburgh, the students rode into Hyde Park to be greeted by a high-powered reception committee of Royal Park’s staff, Ransomes top management and dealer representatives, a BBC television crew and the press. The haggis was handed over to the Keeper of the Royal Parks and a ceremonial strip of Hyde Park grass was mown to Ransomes perfection.

Back in 2009 Ransomes Jacobsen helped the team celebrate their 50th anniversary by organising a two-day visit to their head office in Ipswich, which included a replica of the

Ransomes Matador mower complete with the number plate and signage from 1959.

Ten years on the mower, now in the safe hands of the Ipswich Transport Museum, was parked on the lawn at the university to greet the intrepid Operation Matador team as they arrived.

Professor Quintin McKellar CBE, Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive of the University of Hertfordshire, welcomed the illustrious alumni saying,

“I am delighted to welcome you all to this amazing celebration, some 60 years on from that epic Easter weekend back in 1959. It was an incredible feat and a credit to yourselves, Hatfield Technical College as it was then, and the Ransomes company. You have entered the annals of the history of the University and it’s a pleasure to welcome you and your wives on this historic occasion, and to get a shot driving the lawn mower!”

Mike Smith, one of the ‘masterminds’ behind the ride added,

“We keep in touch with each other, but it has been 10 years since we were all together. What’s really amazing is that we are all still here to celebrate again a decade later and we are truly grateful to the Vice-Chancellor and his staff for this generous recognition.”

The celebrations concluded with a tour of the university’s Engineering department to see the recently installed driving simulator in the Automotive laboratory, various flight simulators and the latest Student Formula racing car being designed and built by the engineering students.

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Toro Technology Impresses

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Toro Technology Impresses: Leading the way with the latest technology in turfcare, Toro’s myTurf Pro fleet management software program is proving to be a popular addition at UK golf clubs across the country.

Word is spreading about the software which automatically logs information about all machines in operation at the club meaning greenkeepers can track data for their Toro or non-Toro equipment, order parts, schedule services, and gain access to information such as parts and service manuals. And so far, it has not failed to impress.

Toro Technology Impresses

Neil Mcloughlin, course manager at Deeside Golf Club, says that having myTurf Pro has made a “real difference” at the club: “We have a full fleet of Toro machines at Deeside. Being able to log everything from scheduled maintenance to our inventory, all in the same place, is incredibly useful. Plus with service and parts manuals accessible as well, all the information that I might need is just a click away.”

Designed to make a difficult job easier, having everything at your fingertips has shown to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of greenkeeping fleet management. Something Andrew Airlie, mechanic at The Royal Automobile Club, wholeheartedly agrees with.

“It gives you easy access to everything you need, which has made a huge difference,” he says. “For example, we used to spend endless amounts of time logging the hours on machines manually, but with myTurf Pro, it submits the data in real-time via wireless internet connection. Now we spend less time logging data and more time focusing on maintaining the machines to a high standard.”

As well as providing information and logging data automatically, myTurf Pro also sends notifications when a machine needs servicing, which has been a “huge help”, says Neil Corley, head mechanic at The Grove Golf Club.

“We used to do all of our servicing at the end of the year. But with myTurf Pro, it notifies you when machines in your fleet need to be serviced,” explains Neil. “Now, our servicing is spaced out across the year which is great. It means we can take preventative measures, rather than trying to fix bigger problems which is often harder to do and more expensive. We can spread out our budget throughout the year, which helps us financially.”

He continues: “The software is so simple to use, and it’s made it easier to stay on top of everything. Now that we have myTurf Pro, I don’t think we can manage without it.”

With its many features created to help with the maintenance of greenkeeping machinery, regardless of brand, the myTurf Pro software is becoming a fast favourite for UK greenkeepers.

For more information, visit: reesinkturfcare.co.uk

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Campey’s Mick Parks Retires

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Campey’s Mick Parks Retires: Campey Turf Care System’s outside service engineer, Mick Parks, has retired from his role after 27 years at the company.

Mick started his job with Campey in July 1991 and has been a valuable member of the team ever since. His qualities, not only as an engineer but as a person, will be missed by everyone at Campey and the many customers he worked with throughout the years.

Campey's Mick Parks Retires

Mick was well known to his customers especially in the North West of the UK. When needed he would turn up at the customers site and fix many problems himself reducing downtime and allowing the greenkeepers or groundsmen to continue their work.

Speaking about his time at the company, Mick said: “I’ve really enjoyed my time at Campey , and I wouldn’t change it. Richard has always let me get on with the job and despite working alone most of the time I’ve always had the support of the Campey team and I’ve valued the support and friendship of my colleagues and Richard.”

Mick’s contribution has been greatly valued by Richard Campey, who is sad to see him go after so many successful years.

“Mick has been with us for a long time, and he epitomises everything that is good about the company,” he said. “He has represented us out in the field and always delivered excellent work, and he has been an esteemed member of our team throughout his 27-years with us.

“I’m sorry to see him go, but I’d like to thank him for his service and wish him all the best for his retirement.”

In retirement, Mick intends to spend a lot more time with his family, particularly his grand-children, and indulge his hobbies of cycling and walking.

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Bruntsfield Links’ New Toro Fleet

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Bruntsfield Links’ New Toro Fleet: A £1.2 million investment in the 18-hole course at one of the world’s oldest golf clubs, Bruntsfield Links Golfing Society in Edinburgh, has concluded with the arrival of a brand new Toro fleet of machinery to safeguard the investment.

As course manager Neil Hogg says, you don’t create something of this quality if you don’t have the machinery to keep it at its best: “This is our first package deal and the timing coincides with the conclusion of the extensive revamp of the course by golf course architects Mackenzie and Ebert. The course has been designed around a very modern spec and reflects the way golf is played in the 21st Century. We knew we needed a package deal to take care of the course and deliver the results it deserves.”

Bruntsfield Links' New Toro Fleet

The main objective of the redesign was to keep the original Dr Mackenzie shapes and feel but bring it up-to-date. Mackenzie and Ebert follow in the footprints of past course work completed by Willie Park Jnr, Dr Alister Mackenzie, James Braid and Fred Hawtree.

“Despite being an Open qualifying venue since 2011, there hadn’t been any changes to the course since the early 1970s,” Neil says.

There are now eight new holes and more than 80 bunkers which have been redesigned and repositioned to reflect the distances club golfers are now striking the ball, plus the course has been restored to a par 71 to create longer play. The 12th & 13th holes were combined to create a challenging dog leg par five into a prevailing wind and a new signature par three hole at the 16th over a pond has been introduced.

And already Neil notes the improvements are making a big difference for the club: “The course improvements were designed to elevate Bruntsfield to be one of the top parkland courses in Scotland. The works have only recently finished, but have made such a difference and been so well received, we’ve surged up the Top 100 Golf Courses list by 69 places. Plus, we’ve seen an increase in membership too and now have an extensive waiting list in place.”

However, the equipment in the shed wasn’t quite so shiny and new, as Neil explains: “The shed was previously a mixed bag of machines. Some were getting on for 30 years old and the machinery that made up the fleet as a whole hadn’t really been considered. With Dougie, our CEO’s guidance, plus that of Reesink’s Stuart Tait and David Raitt, we looked at how we could streamline things and ensure the best for the future of the course.”

Dougie Cleeton enjoyed a successful tenure as managing secretary of Blairgowrie Golf Club before joining Bruntsfield and bringing with him sound knowledge of what to expect with the redesign of a course, says Neil: “We were lucky to get Dougie, he’d been involved in similar projects before and brought with him a wealth of experience. Together we went through the machines in the shed and planned the new fleet.”

Included in the deal are two Reelmaster 3575-D fairway mowers, two Reelmaster 3100-D mowers with Sidewinders, five Greensmaster 1000 pedestrian mowers, two Greensmaster 3250-D ride-on greens mowers, a Workman MDX utility vehicle and a TYM 503 heavy-duty tractor.

“The new fleet is delivering on our expectations. All the staff love using the machines, the fairway mowers are so nimble and light, and the pedestrian mowers in particular are a big hit. Plus, maintenance and servicing are a lot easier.”

Neil finishes by saying: “It’s the perfect end to a successful project. We started out with quality and longevity in mind and we conclude with it too. The machines will respect the course and bring out its best for years to come.”

For more information, visit: reesinkturfcare.co.uk

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